The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has sought a comprehensive investigation into the murder of party Koyilandy town central local committee secretary P.V. Sathyanathan, dismissing media reports and preliminary findings of the police that the suspect has been an active part of the party for several years.
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan and Kozhikode district secretary P. Mohanan on Friday claimed that there were hidden political motives behind the strange propagations, and that only a detailed probe would bring to light the truth and the conspirators.
Local leaders of the party also endorsed their senior leaders’ stance and claimed that the suspect had been under suspension for disciplinary reasons for over eight years. The police should probe whether he had been part of any organised gang during the suspension period to endanger the CPI(M) leader who was behind the disciplinary action initiated against him, they said.
Meanwhile, the Congress and the BJP alleged that the CPI(M) was trying to misinterpret facts without admitting its suspected role in nurturing a worker with criminal background.
BJP State general secretary M.T. Ramesh said the suspect was employed by the CPI(M) to attack party rivals on various occasions. He added that legal proceedings would be initiated against CPI(M) leaders who made fake social media statements holding RSS workers accountable for the murder.
Meanwhile, the Kozhikode Rural police on Friday constituted a special investigation team led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The team recovered the lethal weapon allegedly used by the suspect. According to police sources, the man who was taken into custody within a few hours after the incident confessed to the crime and revealed that he had executed the murder following personal grudge.
“We need to check whether he had received any external support for the crime. All allegations will be examined by the special investigation team,” said a senior police officer now part of the investigation.
Sathyanathan’s body was cremated in the presence of thousands of party workers and leaders near his ancestral home at Peruvattur in Koyilandy on Friday night. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan and Minister for Public Works and Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas were among those who paid their last respects to the late party leader. The body was also kept at the CPI(M)’s Koyilandy central local committee office for the public to pay homage.
It was around 10 p.m. on Thursday that Sathyanathan was allegedly hacked to death while he was attending a temple festival at Koyilandy. The 62-year-old, who reportedly suffered six mortal wounds in the attack, succumbed to injuries while being rushed to the Koyilandy taluk hospital.
